New chairman for Northern Way
The Northern Way, an initiative being led by North West Development Agency and two other RDAs for north England, has appointed Hugh Morgan Williams as a new chair.
Williams will succeed the Northern Way's current chair Neville Chamberlain in June.
He is founder and current chairman of electronic manufacturing company Canford Group.
Williams was appointed by a panel consisting of Sir Richard Leese, leader of Manchester City Council, Margaret Fay, chair of One North-East and Patrick Walton, managing partner of Yorkshire Bank.
The Northern Way initiative is being led by the three Northern Regional Development Agencies including NWDA, Yorkshire Forward, and One NorthEast.
The strategy aims to tackle the £30bn output gap between the north of England and the rest of the UK by building on the assets of the three regions to transform the north's economy. It aims to do this by:
- Producing greater impact by doing important things together across the North
- Demonstrating how existing national programmes can be even more effective across the North
- Preparing a strong evidence base for new investment and specific policies that will meet the requirements of the north
The Northern Way is focusing on three city regions within the North West including:
- Liverpool
- Central Lancashire
- Manchester
Sheffield, Leeds, Hull and Humber Ports, Tees Valley and Tyne & Wear are the other five city regions being focused on.
Hugh Morgan Williams began his career as a journalist before becoming chairman of Galaxy Radio.
He was also a board member of RDA One North-East between 1998 and 2001.
